Method of and apparatus for flanging metal



Oct. 13, 1931.

(3. J. ANcl 'lcR METHOD 01 AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL Filed March16. 1 929 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 13, 1931.

c. J; ANCHOR METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Fiied March 16, 1929 Uiafis //v vavroR (f/izckor [iron/vex Oct. 13,1931. A CHQR 1,827,452

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL Filed March 16, 1929 3Sfieets-Shaet 3 40 tion will beapparent Patented Oct. 13,1931

; CHAR-Lensa. .Ancrronfoni/rrnron, I}

nns rtvenre, nssreivon r AMERICAN cnnnnn rounnnxcorannny, on.vnwjjronxnxg ACOBPQRATQCON on nnwvmnsn'y METHODQF Ann ,AfIfAnArus nonFLANIVGING vrErAn,

Appease-ma-Mm16,1929; Sena-rm, 3475 55; 1 7

points on the longitudinalcenter line jof the v tank, vand theremainder'oii'the flange willgbe v at an obtuse angle, wlth respect tothe-side sheet, and in conformityfwith the contour 'f the tank;He-retofore dome sheets hayebeen flanged in a suitable-pressto partiallyform the finished sheet, and their diametrically Q-P- I ,poseclfportionsof the, flanges'ihave been" hammered to define a right angle. Such-amethQcl' is expensive and, time! consuming," and, therefore, one objectof this; inventionis'ithe pro;

vision of amethod formeehlanieally forming the entire attachingcflangeofadomesheetl Another object on; thiszi-nvention istheprw vision of a:method; ofimechanicallyflanglng a dome sheetat oneqhea'ting thereo firt.

A further object of he invention s thepros vision of meansformechanicallyiiormingthe' attaching flange of a, domesheetfi, v

still further obfectofitheinventlon s the provision oi? means associatedwith ap-ress 1 for partially hanging diametri-calil -.0p-pose' portionsof a dome sheet, which means'are' removable after such partial flangingwhere y V .fl'an-ge the dome sheet; 7, '7

Other objects and advantages o fthisinvenJ-H from, the followmg" de?scription taken conjunction with v the ac; companyi-ngdraWi-ngsin-which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of the appara tus for forming the sidesheet, certain vparts being shown i-n'sectionancl "others beingbrokenaway vice, a portion thereof, being on thelin-e 2+2, I Fig; 1, andanother-portion of the figure havingparts broken away; I

-A car tank usuallyhylihdricrl and the jhe pressi may, be: actuated,ftoacompletely f Figs-is an'end view of themale die mem position; v o 1Fig,:4s is a front view of the press, the,fe.-

' ber, showrngaportion of-the presshead, and a showing the initialformers ini operativve maledie member anddie andthe dome sheet ,i

being shown .in section; Fig. 5 1s a detail view her showlng the wedgesor inltial formers as s'ociatedi therewith; and I Fig. 6' is a sectionalview of the female die of themale die mem holder with the femaledie-therein,.the work being shown in finished form. a

In carrying out the present methodarr apparatus is providedwhich-comprises broadly af urnace' A in which a dome-sheet blank isheated and a press B arranged adjacent-the furnaceandincluding a maledie holder C,

aifemale die holder D a; femaledie member Eyand a malediememberF. it

The furnace A may assumev any desired form, but, in the instance sh0wn,-is mounted on'columns 2 and includes 'azsheating flue 4 defined: byfire-bricks 6;: the upper edges of which are formed to the contour of'thef end 7 5 i of acylindricaldomesheet blank-gtoa bea '7 1 'sheetl Thea hoist 8, which'maybeeithrhydrauliC or pneumatic and which includes aram 1 0,hav;-

furnace is arranged immediately over depthithrough'the entirecireurnferenceof the irig a head12,whichsincludes spaced rails.

d 14 connected at their endsrby 'arcuatel'end' plates 16, curved toconformto the contour olithe; dome sheet blank. .Secured'to the rails Il lqad'jacent the ends thereofare; angles 18 adapted to engage the"inner; surface of the domesh'eet 'tosteady the same, *as will-be obviousfrom the description to follow: 7

- Aj-buggy'20 is provided which is substantially U-shaped and includesthe sides 22 and an end; still 24, the buggy being mounted on wheels26travelling on ra' over the hoist'and carryingthe dome sheet blank tobe'fia'ngedrto'a, position suchthat it may be engaged by the rails 14:of the'ram lifting the blank so that the end to be flanged is;extender-,1 into the heating flu l fpt ls 28 to a position head 12 whenthe latter is elevated; the ram furnace, as shown in Fig. 1. The domesheet blank comprises a cylindrical structure having overlapped sideedges riveted together, as shown clearly in Fig. 6 at 29. Previous toforming the cylindrical structure, the blank has one end thereof formedto a predetermined shape, as indicated in Fig. 1; the form of the end ofthe blank be ing, of course, determined by the structure to which it isto be attached, which, in the present instance, is a car tank ofcylindrical form.

Arranged adjacent the furnace is the press B and, extending between thefurnace and press and movable so as to be disengaged from the press, arespaced rails 30 which, when the blank is being heated, are so placedthat one end of each thereof is supported on the female die holder D, asshown at 31 in Figs. 1 and 2. Any form or desired type of rail supportmay be provided at the press, but, as illustrative of the invention, therail supports shown in l include brackets 33 having an inverted T-shapedrecess 35 formed therein which receives the rails 30. In the instanceshown in the drawings, the rails merely rest on angles 32 secured to thecolumns 2 and may be easily moved over the angles 32, as shown clearlyin full and dotted lines in 2.

When the blank, which has been desig nated as 87, has been sufficientlyheated in the furnace the ram lO is lowered and the rails 80 arranged insuch a position that the blank is received on the rails, following whichit maybe moved thereover in any suitable manner intothe female dieholder D where it issupported on a spider 34 shown more clearly in Figs,2, 4 and 6', and which spider is mounted on the ram 36 of an air hoist38, V

The female die holder is mounted on a platen40 which is verticallyreciprocable by rams 42 of primary air hoists 43, and said platen ispreferably guided during reciprocation by vertical columns 44. Inasmuchas the specific type of hoistforms no part of the present invention, thesame is not described in detail. V p

The columns 44 also support a press head 46 to which is secured the maledie 48, the working surface 49 of which is formed complemental to theworking surface of the female die 50 arranged in female die holder D;the latter having an annular recess which supports the said die member50, as clearly shown in the drawings.

It has been found in practice that if attempts are made to form theattaching flange of the dome sheet at one operation, the metal of thesheet is'so strained as to be liable to easy fracture, and, in fact,occasionally the metal is fractured or broken during the flangingoperation. This is due, it is believed, to the action of the die membersin forming the particular type of flange required for such articles asherein described. To obviate this, there have been provided suitableinitial formers which, when the female die member is urged toward themale diemember, engage the heated end of the dome sheet at diametricallyopposite portions of the sheet to partially flange the latter, saidflanging, of course, occurring at substantially diametrically opposedportions, said portions being those which, in the finished sheet, are atright angles with respect to the sheet.

These initial formers are clearly shown in the drawings and comprisesegments 52 of substantially crescent shape, theupper surfaces of whichare formed to the contour of the working surfaces 49 of the die member Cand which, when in use, are adapted to engage said working surface, asshown in Figs. 1 and 3. These formers are pivotally secured to brackets54 secured to die member C and are each provided with a handle 56 forlifting them to inoperative position; the arms 58 extending from thesegments having a cross bar 60 extending therebetween which is adaptedto be engaged by a hook 62 secured to the head 46 whereby to suspendsaid formers, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5,

These formers 52 are of a length suflicient to give a gradual taper fromtheir centers to their extremities, and are beveled in cross sectionwhereby to partially or initially flange the dome sheet, as shown inFig. 1, after which the die members are separated and the formerswithdrawn, whereupon the die members are brought together again and thesheet is then flanged throughout its entire circumference to its desiredform; those portions which have been initially flanged being furtherflanged at right angles with respect to thesheet on the longitudinalcenter line of the tank, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, the right angledflange-portions merging into the remainder of the flanged edge of thedome sheet, and the completed flanged end conforming to the contour ofthe tank towhich the dome-sheet is to be attached.

Following the completion of the flanging, the primary air hoists areactuated to lower the platen 40 to separate the male and female diemembers, and then the ram 36 of hoist 38 is actuated to elevate thekicker to lift the flanged dome sheet blank, and it may then be'removedfrom the female die member.

The new and improved method of forming the sheet includes first heatingthe end of a dome sheet and then transferringsaid sheet to a press whilein its heated condition. The press isthen actuated to flange the sheetat diametrically opposite portions only an d then, without furtherheating, the sheet is flanged completely around the circumference at theend thereof. It is to be noted that diametriages-2,452

jected to two pressing operations which, it

may be What is claimed is:

has

' onl '40 y has been found, results in a construction in which the metalat the end of a dome sheet is not strained to excess, and, consequently,

an unfractured flange is formed, whichflange possesses the requiredstrength.

' From the above descr1pt1on,iit is believed that the construction andoperation of the apparatus'just describedwill be fully apparent to thoseskilled in the art, but it is not to be understoodthat the invention islimited to the specific details of disclosureas shown in the drawings,as'the drawings'are for illus--- trative purposes only, and variouschanges in the form and proportions of the apparatus made within thescope of the appended claims. The method specificallyrecited hereinis,-of course, susceptible of modification, the applicant is limited tothe specific method outlinedherein, as obviously various changes may bemade within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from thespirit of the invention. 1

1. In a press, initial predetermined portions only, said formers beingremovable to inoperative position to permit normal action of thediemembers.

2. In a press, die members for flanging the entire circumference ofcylindrical work, and means adapted to be positioned between the membersfor preventing combined action of the diemembers and for initiallyacting on the work at spaced predetermined portions 3. In a press, diemembersfor flanging the entlre circumferenceof cylindrical work, and

means adapted to be positioned between the I members for preventingcombined action of V the die membersand for initially'a'cting'on thework at spaced predetermined portions only, said means beingmovable toinoperative position after initial action'topermit the die membersto actupon the entire circumference of the work.

4. In a press, male and female die mem-, bers, and means for initiallyacting on work in said press priorto thecombinedaction of said diemembers comprising circumferen-v tially formers carried by the male diememher and adapted to be interposed between said members for: acting onthe work at'predetermined points, said formers being removable to permitaction of the die members on the work including those portionspreviously formed.

5. In apress, male and female die members,

and formers pivotally secured to one of saidmembers and having one facecomplemental to the working face of the die member to which it isattached, saidformers being so and-it is not to be understood that,

formers {adapted to be interposed between .the die members there of forinitially'acting on thework at spaced,

"the- =-entireicircmnference. of: the sheet, and

estate as Ito initially ha e predetermined portions only of'the'wlork-andrbeing remove able from between' said members to: permit'tol-befpositioned between the. dielmembers for fomningi flanges atdiametrically opposite points onz'tli'edomesheet,said formers V beingremovable from'ibetiveen the diemembers whereby tofpermi-tactioniofthediememto flange 'theylatter-u I onthe:entire-"circumference; thesheet 7. In a pressfor' flangi ng dome sheets, male $9 and "female. diemembers adapted to flange the entire circumference at one end of a. dome1 sheet, and initial formers. connected'tothe male' diemernber andadapted fto be post. 7

tinned against; the working face thereof for partially 'flanging' thedome sheet -at.;'-predetermined points and less than the entirecircumference of the sheet,jsaid formers being removable to inoperativeposition after partial fl'an'gingof the sheet.;whereb.yx the male andfemale die members completely flange the sheet 8; a press initialformers adapted to bepositioned be- I for fl'angingrdome sheets, maleandfemale die members for'flanging:

tween said die members for partially flang- 7 ingsaid sheet atdiametrically opposite points only prior to complete flanging' by saiddie members. i I

.9. Apress comprising male and female die members adapted normally forflanging the entire circumference of a tank prlsing ing surface of themale" die'member wheredome sheet and means for initially flangingspacedpre-j determined portions only of the sheet 'com- 7 V formers adapted toengage the work-- formers being removable to inoperative position topermit a'ction of the male and female die members around the entirecir-' "10. The method ,of

cumference of the dome sheet including the previously formed :fiangeportions.

structure, heat ng one end thereof, pressing predetermined portionsonly- 0f the heated endto form flanges, and finally subjecting v i theentire circumference of theheated and partially flanged end to pressureto further flange the previously flanged portions and to u a form acontinuous flange at the said heated end.

sheets which includes heating one end of a dome sheet and'thensubjecting said-heated end to at least two pressings one'of'whichflanges diametrically Opposite portions only and the other of'whichflanges the entire 11. The method of flanging tank dome circumference ofthe heatedend including the previously flanged portions.

12. The method of Hanging tank dome sheets in a press which comprisesplacing spaced formers in the press, actuating the press to flangespaced predetermined portions only of the dome sheet, removing theformers and finally actuating the press to bend the entire circumferenceof thesheet, including the previously flanged portions.

13. The method of forming tank dome sheets which comprises heating-oneend of a cylindrical metallic structure, flanging diametrically opposedportions only of the heated. end of the sheet,,and then Without furtherheating fianging the entire-circumference of the said heated end.

14. The method of forming tank dome sheets which comprises heatingoneend of a cylindrical metallic structure, then bending diametricallyopposed portions of said heated end to partially flange the same, andthen subjecting the entire circumference of said heated end to pressureto further bend the previously bent portions and to form flanges mergingwith the said previously bent'portions. 7

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES J. ANCHOR.

